Investment banking
Mergers & Acquisitions Banker
Advise companies on buying, selling, or merging with other companies.
What you do
M&A bankers represent corporations or financial sponsors in strategic transactions — selling a company, buying one, merging two together, or carving out a division. The work spans the full deal lifecycle: pitching to win the mandate, building the financial models and marketing materials, finding and screening buyers (or targets), negotiating terms, and shepherding the deal through diligence to closing. M&A is the highest-profile work in investment banking and the most studied by aspiring entrants.
A day in the life
Mornings often start with internal team check-ins and revisions to materials based on partner feedback from the night before. The day fragments across multiple deals at different stages — model edits for one, a client call for another, a buyer screen for a third. Senior bankers spend much of the day on calls; junior bankers (analysts, associates) spend it in Excel, PowerPoint, and the data room. Hours are notoriously long; 70-90 hour weeks at the analyst level are typical during live deals.
Money
M&A is among the highest-paying entry-level careers in finance. First-year analyst total compensation (base + bonus) sits well into six figures in major financial centers. The career trajectory is steep: associates earn meaningfully more than analysts, VPs more again, and managing directors at top banks earn high seven figures or more in strong years. The bulk of comp is bonus, which fluctuates with deal volume — strong years compound; weak years compress junior pay closer to industry norms.
How to get the job
The traditional path is on-campus recruiting at a target undergraduate or MBA program, with a junior-year summer internship that converts to a full-time offer. Banks recruit aggressively from a defined list of universities — breaking in from outside that list is possible but harder, typically through networking, finance clubs, technical preparation, and lateral moves from adjacent fields (accounting, consulting, valuation roles). Recruiting starts brutally early; sophomore year is not too soon to begin.
Examples
The "bulge bracket" investment banks — Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Bank of America, Citi, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, UBS — are the largest M&A practices globally. Independent advisory firms (Lazard, Evercore, Centerview, Moelis, Rothschild) compete intensely on advisory mandates and are often considered prestigious in their own right. The Goldman M&A practice and Lazard's restructuring group are the canonical names students will encounter.
Necessary skills
Technical: advanced Excel financial modeling (LBO, merger consequences, DCF, accretion-dilution), PowerPoint, accounting fluency, valuation. Soft: pressure management, attention to detail, written and verbal precision, the ability to take direction from senior bankers at all hours. The CFA matters less for M&A than for asset management; what matters is the technical interview performance and demonstrated work product.
Investment banking
Capital Markets Banker (ECM / DCM)
Help companies raise capital through public equity or debt issuance.
What you do
Capital markets bankers help corporations and governments raise money by issuing securities — either equity (ECM: IPOs, follow-ons, convertibles) or debt (DCM: bonds, syndicated loans). The work sits at the intersection of investment banking and trading: capital markets bankers price deals using current market conditions, place them with institutional investors, and structure terms (coupon, maturity, covenants, lockups). The job is faster-cycle than M&A — deals execute in days or weeks rather than months — and more market-driven.
A day in the life
The day is tied to market hours. ECM bankers monitor IPO pipelines, secondary market conditions, and investor demand for new issuance. DCM bankers track the bond market, credit spreads, and the issuance window for their clients. Pricing calls happen during market hours; allocation calls happen near the close; investor education and roadshow logistics fill the rest. Hours can spike around live deals but are generally less punishing than M&A.
Money
Compensation at the junior level is similar to M&A within the same bank. The trajectory is comparable through the early years but tends to plateau slightly lower at senior levels than top M&A — partly because deal fees are typically a smaller percentage of transaction value, partly because individual capital markets bankers are less directly attributable to mandate wins than M&A originators. Strong DCM origination roles at top banks can still command high seven-figure compensation in good years.
How to get the job
Same fundamental path as M&A: target-school undergrad or MBA recruiting, summer internship, full-time conversion. Many bankers move fluidly between M&A and capital markets groups within the same bank — both rely on overlapping technical foundations. Some banks recruit specifically into capital markets groups; others let interns rotate before placement.
Examples
The major banks all have ECM and DCM franchises: JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citi. The 2024 Reddit IPO, the 2023 Birkenstock IPO, and large recurring bond issuances by Apple and Microsoft are the kind of deals these groups run. Country-specific capital markets practices (BNP Paribas in Europe; Nomura, MUFG in Japan) dominate their home markets.
Necessary skills
Strong fluency with market data and pricing benchmarks (yield curves, credit spreads, equity multiples); ability to read sentiment from investor calls; comfort with high-pressure pricing decisions. The work is less Excel-heavy than M&A but more market-aware. Series 7 and Series 79 licenses are typically required for US capital markets work.
Investment banking
Restructuring Banker
Advise companies in financial distress on bankruptcy and reorganization.
What you do
Restructuring bankers advise companies (debtor-side) or creditors (creditor-side) when a firm cannot pay its debts. The work involves negotiating with creditor groups, advising on Chapter 11 (or non-US equivalents like UK administration or French sauvegarde), running distressed sale processes, and structuring exit financing. Counter-cyclical: thrives in recessions and credit-stress periods. The work is intellectually dense — bankruptcy law, intercreditor dynamics, and game theory all meet — and the deals can be enormous.
A day in the life
The work cycles in waves. During an active engagement, days revolve around creditor calls, court filings, and negotiations with multiple stakeholder groups. Between engagements (which can run from months to years), bankers stay close to "watch list" credits — leveraged companies that might end up in restructuring. The hours are intense during live engagements but more variable than M&A.
Money
Restructuring bankers earn at or above the M&A compensation curve, with strong counter-cyclical dynamics. The Lazard and PJT restructuring practices are particularly famous — comp at top restructuring groups in busy years can exceed M&A. Bonus volatility is higher than mainstream M&A because deal volume is more episodic.
How to get the job
Restructuring is harder to recruit into directly than M&A. Many bankers start in M&A or distressed debt research and move laterally once they've developed credit and legal sophistication. Top-tier restructuring practices (Lazard, PJT, Houlihan Lokey, Evercore) recruit selectively from elite undergrad and MBA programs; expect technical depth in interviews.
Examples
Lazard, PJT Partners, Houlihan Lokey, Moelis, Evercore — these are the dominant US restructuring advisory firms. Houlihan Lokey has historically led on creditor-side mandates; Lazard and PJT often advise debtors. Recent high-profile bankruptcies (Hertz, Frontier Communications, FTX, Bed Bath & Beyond, WeWork) are restructuring engagements.
Necessary skills
Strong credit analysis, comfort with legal documents (credit agreements, indentures, intercreditor agreements), and ability to model under distressed assumptions. Soft skills matter even more than in M&A — restructuring bankers spend a lot of time managing adversarial creditor relationships and explaining technical points to non-finance audiences (judges, official committees).
Markets
Sales & Trading
Make markets and serve institutional investors on bank trading desks.
What you do
Sales and trading on the sell side has two paired sub-roles. Salespeople develop relationships with institutional investors (hedge funds, asset managers, pension funds) and execute their orders. Traders make markets — committing the bank's capital to provide liquidity, hedging the resulting exposure, and managing book risk. Both work the same trading floor and share clients. The product range is enormous: cash equities, equity derivatives, fixed income (rates, credit, FX, commodities), structured products. Each asset class has its own desk culture and skills.
A day in the life
The day starts before markets open with research notes, morning meetings, and overnight news digestion. Markets open, and the next 6-8 hours are an intense flow of client calls, executions, and risk management. Lunch is at the desk, often eaten while watching screens. Markets close, and traders mark their books, hand off to overseas counterparts, and write the day's commentary. The pace is unlike any other finance job — fast, market-driven, and continuous.
Money
Junior salaries are competitive with banking, but the trajectory and ceiling differ. Top traders at major banks can earn more than M&A managing directors in strong years, but the lifetime compensation curve is more volatile. Compensation is tightly tied to desk P&L; underperforming traders are managed out faster than underperforming bankers. Many senior traders eventually move to hedge funds, where comp can be even higher.
How to get the job
Same target-school recruiting pattern as banking. Sales & trading internships are often a separate track from banking internships — many banks split intern groups at the start of the summer. The interview process leans more on market sense and quick calculations than on accounting and modeling. Series 7 and 63 are required for US roles; FINRA-equivalent registrations apply globally.
Examples
The largest sell-side desks are at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citi, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank for global products. In specific asset classes, firms specialize — Citadel Securities and Jane Street dominate cash equity market-making; Cantor Fitzgerald has historically been strong in US Treasuries. The shrinking of bank prop-trading after Dodd-Frank reshaped the industry; some of the most aggressive trading culture has moved to hedge funds and quant firms.
Necessary skills
Quick mental math, comfort with risk, ability to hold many information streams in working memory. Sales roles weight relationships and product knowledge; trading roles weight market sense and discipline. Increasingly, all sales & trading roles benefit from coding skills (Python, sometimes C++ for quant desks) given the electronification of markets.
See the future Lessons · Trading track (coming) and the Directory entries for sell-side firms.
Markets
Equity Research Analyst (Sell-Side)
Publish research and recommendations on public companies for institutional clients.
What you do
Sell-side equity research analysts cover specific industries (semiconductors, US banks, European luxury, etc.) and publish research notes, models, and recommendations (Buy / Hold / Sell) for the bank's institutional clients. They build and maintain detailed financial models, attend management meetings and industry conferences, and write notes that range from earnings recaps to deep thematic reports. Their currency is being right and being differentiated — analysts known for contrarian calls that pan out develop outsized followings.
A day in the life
During earnings season (4-6 weeks each quarter), the work is intense — companies report, analysts update models, write reaction notes, and host client calls within hours. Outside earnings, the rhythm is more variable: writing longer thematic notes, hosting industry events, traveling for management visits, taking client calls. Mornings often start with a morning meeting where analysts present their latest views to the sales force.
Money
Junior compensation is similar to other entry-level banking roles but the senior trajectory is more variable. Top-ranked analysts (Institutional Investor surveys are the industry benchmark) can earn very well; less well-regarded analysts plateau earlier. The role has been pressured by MiFID II in Europe (which unbundled research from trading commissions) and by the rise of passive investing, which reduces the demand for stock-picking research.
How to get the job
Many analysts start as associates supporting a senior analyst before being promoted. Recruiting is sometimes from MBA programs, sometimes laterally from corporate finance or buy-side junior roles. Industry expertise matters increasingly — a former pharma scientist with finance training is often more valuable than a generalist analyst. Strong writing is essential.
Examples
All major sell-side banks maintain research divisions. The departed sell-side analysts who became famous — Mary Meeker (internet), Mike Mayo (banks), Adam Jonas (autos) — are useful reference points. Independent research firms (Bernstein, Redburn, Wolfe Research, MoffettNathanson) operate as research-only specialists and are increasingly visible. Bernstein in particular is well-known for producing analysts who later move to senior buy-side roles.
Necessary skills
Industry depth, financial modeling, exceptional writing, comfort presenting to skeptical institutional clients. The work suits people who can hold strong views with appropriate humility — calling earnings right doesn't make you a stock-picker, and the analyst's job is differentiated insight, not just price targets.
Markets
Fixed Income Strategist / Economist
Analyze rates, credit, and macro for trading desks and institutional clients.
What you do
Fixed income strategists and economists publish views on interest rates, credit spreads, currency, and macroeconomic indicators. They translate complex monetary and fiscal policy into actionable views for traders and institutional investors. The work spans cyclical macro (where are rates going?), structural macro (how is the global savings glut evolving?), and tactical trading recommendations (this part of the curve is mispriced relative to that one). Senior strategists become public figures — interviewed on CNBC and Bloomberg, quoted in the Financial Times — in a way that few other finance roles allow.
A day in the life
Mornings revolve around overnight market moves, economic data releases, and central bank statements. Strategists publish daily commentary, host client calls, and develop longer thematic pieces between data points. The work cycles around FOMC meetings, ECB decisions, and major data releases (CPI, payrolls, GDP). Travel is significant — strategists are expected to meet clients globally.
Money
Senior strategists at major banks earn well, though typically below top M&A or trading levels. The role pays for influence and intellectual contribution rather than direct revenue, which both protects strategists in slow markets and caps the upside in boom years. Hedge fund macro roles (the buy-side equivalent) can offer significantly higher comp for strong performers.
How to get the job
Many strategists come from PhD programs in economics or finance, or from central bank research departments. Some move from sell-side research analyst roles. The credential bar is unusually high relative to other markets roles — a strong macro thesis paper, published research, or central bank experience all help. The CFA helps less than it would for an asset management role.
Examples
Famous past and present strategists include Mohamed El-Erian, Jim O'Neill (coined "BRICs"), Stephen Roach, Lacy Hunt, and David Rosenberg. Major sell-side practices: JPMorgan's Michael Cembalest, Goldman's Jan Hatzius, Morgan Stanley's Mike Wilson. Bond fund strategists (Pimco, BlackRock, Vanguard) operate on the buy-side equivalent of the same role.
Necessary skills
Macroeconomic fluency, statistical analysis, strong writing, public-speaking comfort. The role requires the patience to be wrong publicly — strategists make calls that don't pay off for years and must defend or revise them with intellectual honesty.
See future Lessons · Money & Banking and Fixed Income tracks, plus the Federal Reserve Directory entry.
Asset management
Portfolio Manager (Active)
Make buy and sell decisions for actively-managed investment portfolios.
What you do
Portfolio managers (PMs) at active asset managers make the buy/sell/sizing decisions for mutual funds, separately managed accounts, or institutional portfolios. They synthesize input from research analysts (often a team of 5-20 covering different industries or factors), risk management, and trading. The decision is theirs alone; the buck stops with the PM. Active PMs come in many varieties — fundamental (analyze companies one by one), quantitative (run systematic strategies), thematic (identify trends), or multi-asset (allocate across equity, bonds, alternatives).
A day in the life
Less screen-bound than trading and less deadline-driven than banking. Mornings include reviewing overnight markets, reading research notes, and meeting with analysts. Mid-day is often spent in management meetings with companies the PM is researching. Afternoons involve trading decisions, portfolio rebalancing, and writing investor letters or memos. PMs travel for due diligence, conferences, and client meetings — significantly more than analysts do.
Money
Senior PMs at top firms earn very well, especially when running concentrated strategies that meaningfully outperform. Compensation structures vary widely: some are tied directly to fund performance, others to firm-wide profitability, others to AUM growth. Long-term wealth creation in asset management often happens through equity in the firm — successful boutique PMs can build substantial wealth over a 15-20 year career through firm ownership.
How to get the job
Most PMs spend 5-10 years as analysts before getting their first PM role, either through promotion or by joining a smaller firm. MBA + CFA is the most common credential combination. Successful track records are recognized through industry rankings, Morningstar ratings, and word-of-mouth among allocators. The path is much slower than banking but with a longer professional runway — many PMs work productively into their 60s and 70s.
Examples
Fidelity, Capital Group, T. Rowe Price, MFS, Wellington — the large active managers. Boutique firms (Ariel Investments, Longleaf Partners, Tweedy Browne) maintain distinctive styles. The legendary PMs — Peter Lynch (Fidelity Magellan), Bill Miller (Legg Mason), Howard Marks (Oaktree), and contemporary figures like Terry Smith (Fundsmith) and Cathie Wood (ARK) — are useful reference points for the range of approaches.
Necessary skills
Independent thinking, comfort being wrong publicly, strong written communication, deep curiosity. Active management is hard — most active funds underperform benchmarks net of fees — so successful PMs need a clear investment philosophy and the discipline to stick with it through underperformance periods.
Asset management
Buy-Side Research Analyst
Generate investment ideas for portfolio managers who actually deploy capital.
What you do
Buy-side analysts work for asset managers, hedge funds, or other investors who actually buy and sell securities. Unlike sell-side analysts (who publish research for external clients), buy-side analysts develop investment ideas exclusively for their firm's portfolio managers. The output is fewer notes, deeper analysis, and direct input into investment decisions. The intellectual quality bar is higher than sell-side because the analyst's conclusions translate immediately into the firm's capital deployment.
A day in the life
More focused than sell-side. The analyst is often given a small "coverage list" (10-30 companies) and asked to know them deeply. Days are spent reading 10-Ks and 10-Qs, building bottom-up models, talking with company management, channel-checking with customers and suppliers, and writing investment memos. PMs ask hard questions; the analyst defends views in a way that doesn't happen on the sell side.
Money
Buy-side comp varies dramatically by firm type. Hedge fund analysts at top firms can earn substantially more than sell-side equivalents, especially with performance-linked compensation. Mutual fund and pension analyst comp tends to be lower than hedge fund but higher than sell-side at senior levels, with better work-life balance. Compensation is structured: base + bonus + (increasingly) deferred firm equity or performance-linked grants.
How to get the job
Many buy-side analysts come from sell-side equity research (2-4 years) before moving over. Direct buy-side recruiting at undergraduate level is rare but does happen at the largest mutual funds and some hedge funds. The CFA is highly valued. Investment write-up samples are often more important in buy-side interviews than they would be in banking.
Examples
Same firms as portfolio managers — Fidelity, Capital Group, T. Rowe Price, Wellington Management. Hedge fund analyst roles at firms like Citadel, Millennium, Point72, D.E. Shaw, Two Sigma are highly sought. Long-only mutual fund analyst roles are more abundant than hedge fund analyst roles but generally lower-paying.
Necessary skills
Independent thinking, comfort writing investment theses, fluency with financial statements and valuation. Top buy-side analysts can defend a view in a room of skeptical PMs. The work suits the temperamentally curious — people who actually enjoy reading proxy statements and 10-Ks for hours.
Alternatives
Private Equity Associate
Source, evaluate, and execute buyouts of private and public companies.
What you do
Private equity associates work for buyout firms that acquire control of companies (often using significant leverage), hold them for 3-7 years, improve operations, and sell them for a profit. The associate role spans deal sourcing (sometimes), modeling potential acquisitions (always), conducting due diligence (with help from consultants), negotiating with management teams, and monitoring portfolio companies post-acquisition. PE is the most-coveted exit from investment banking, with structured recruiting and a defined two-year associate tenure before promotion or buy-side movement.
A day in the life
When live on a deal, the hours rival banking (12-14 hour days, weekend work). When between deals, associates work on portfolio monitoring, industry studies, and management presentations — much more sustainable. The intellectual nature of the work is different from banking: less about producing materials, more about making decisions about whether a company is worth buying at a given price.
Money
PE associates earn meaningfully more than their banking peers in total compensation. The structure: similar base salary, plus a much larger bonus, plus — at some firms — "carry" (a share of the fund's profits when investments are exited successfully). Carry is the path to genuine wealth in PE; senior partners at top funds earn substantial sums through carry over decades. The trajectory beyond associate (senior associate, VP, principal, partner) takes 10-15 years.
How to get the job
The dominant entry is "on-cycle" PE recruiting from top investment banks, typically 12-18 months into the analyst program. Recruiting moves brutally fast — interviews happen over a 48-hour weekend with offers requiring same-day decisions. Some firms recruit "off-cycle" or post-MBA. Directly out of undergrad is rare but possible at smaller firms. The single biggest factor: did you work at a top investment bank, in a "good" group, with strong performance reviews.
Examples
The "mega-funds" — KKR, Blackstone, Apollo, Carlyle, TPG, CVC, Bain Capital, Vista Equity — and high-prestige smaller firms (Hellman & Friedman, Silver Lake, Thoma Bravo, Advent International). Mid-market firms operate at smaller deal sizes with different dynamics. Family-office and pledge-fund structures exist but are less common entry points.
Necessary skills
LBO modeling (the technical centerpiece), business judgment, due diligence skills, ability to read management quality, comfort with risk. PE recruiting interviews lean heavily on technical modeling tests and case studies — modeling proficiency is a higher bar than in banking.
Alternatives
Hedge Fund Analyst
Generate long/short investment ideas across global markets.
What you do
Hedge fund analysts work at funds that pursue absolute returns rather than benchmark-relative ones, often using long and short positions, leverage, and a wide range of asset classes. The strategy varies enormously: long-short equity, event-driven, distressed credit, global macro, quantitative, multi-strategy. The analyst's job is to develop investment ideas that fit the fund's strategy, defend them under intense PM scrutiny, and monitor active positions for thesis changes.
A day in the life
Highly variable by strategy. A long-short equity analyst at a fundamental fund spends days reading filings, building models, doing channel checks, and writing pitches. A distressed credit analyst lives in indentures and capital structure diagrams. A macro analyst tracks data releases and policy. A quant researcher writes code and runs backtests. The unifying thread: the analyst's conclusions translate directly to capital deployed, and accountability for results is intense.
Money
Top hedge fund analyst compensation can exceed sell-side equivalent and rivals or beats PE in good years, particularly at multi-manager platforms (Citadel, Millennium, Point72) that pay analysts a share of their pod's P&L. The structure ties pay tightly to performance — a great year is great, a bad year can mean termination. The lifetime trajectory varies wildly depending on whether the analyst becomes a portfolio manager.
How to get the job
Many analysts come from sell-side equity research, investment banking, or other hedge funds. Direct-out-of-undergrad recruiting exists at a small number of firms (Citadel, Point72's academy programs). The most-prized credential is a track record — investment pitches with strong analysis and follow-through win interviews. The CFA helps for fundamental long-short; PhD or strong programming credentials help for quant.
Examples
The largest multi-managers (Citadel, Millennium, Point72, ExodusPoint, Balyasny) operate "pod" structures where individual PMs manage independent books with their own analysts. Single-manager firms with distinctive styles (Pershing Square, Third Point, Greenlight, Renaissance Technologies, Two Sigma, Bridgewater) offer different cultures. Activist funds (Elliott, ValueAct, Engaged Capital) are a specific sub-style.
Necessary skills
Beyond strong fundamentals, hedge funds value the ability to develop a differentiated view and stick with it. Risk management is essential — knowing how to size, hedge, and exit. Quantitative strategies require deep coding skills (Python, sometimes C++) and statistical fluency. Multi-manager platforms specifically value the ability to operate independently with minimal supervision.
See the future Lessons · Trading and Special Situations tracks, and the Directory entries for major hedge fund firms.
Alternatives
Venture Capital Associate
Source, evaluate, and back early-stage technology companies.
What you do
Venture capital associates source, evaluate, and help structure investments in early-stage companies — usually technology firms but increasingly biotech, climate tech, and other sectors. The work is qualitative and relationship-driven: building networks of founders, evaluating market opportunities and product-market fit, writing investment memos for partner consideration, supporting portfolio companies post-investment. The math is very different from buyout PE — VC is a power-law business where most investments fail and a few generate outsized returns.
A day in the life
Less structured than banking or PE. A typical day mixes founder pitches (often 4-8 per week), portfolio company check-ins, market research, content production (Substack, Twitter, podcasts — many VCs are public-facing), and investment memos. Travel is significant. Hours are much more variable than buyout PE — there are no "live deal" weeks in the same way.
Money
VC compensation is structurally different from buyout PE. Junior comp is generally lower than buyout associate roles. Carry is a much larger fraction of long-term wealth potential — but carry only pays out if investments succeed, which can take 7-10 years. Top-tier firm partners can earn extraordinarily well over decades through carry on successful funds, but the variance is enormous.
How to get the job
Less standardized than buyout PE recruiting. Many associates come from investment banking, consulting, or — increasingly — direct operating roles at startups. The path varies firm-by-firm: some hire MBAs, some hire engineers, some hire experienced operators. Demonstrating a network of founders, a clear thesis on a sector, and writing samples (Substacks, Medium pieces, podcast appearances) all help.
Examples
Tier-one Silicon Valley firms: Sequoia, Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Benchmark, Accel, Lightspeed, Greylock, Kleiner Perkins. NYC-based firms: USV, FirstMark, Bessemer. International firms with deep tech focus: Index Ventures, Atomico (Europe), Hillhouse, GGV (Asia). Corporate VCs (Google Ventures, Microsoft's M12, Intel Capital) operate differently from independent firms.
Necessary skills
Pattern recognition across many founder pitches, sector expertise, network development, comfort being wrong frequently. The role rewards public engagement — investors who write thoughtfully and engage publicly tend to see better deal flow. Technical depth in a specific sector (AI, biotech, climate) increasingly differentiates associates.
See the future Lessons · Venture Capital track and the a16z newsletters in Resources.